How To Make Jam Using Weston® Products

Here in Ohio, we have a plethora of delicious fruits and vegetables
in season right now. The local farmers markets are pushing strawberries,
raspberries, blueberries, and rhubarb in particular. Naturally, we decided it was time
to get out the canning kit and savor the fresh flavors of summer in the
form of jam.

Once we started jammin', we went a little
overboard and ended up with five different types of jam (and more in
the works). Here's the short story (links to full recipes are below)...

The
first step to canning is to sanitize your jars. Once that's over, the
fun begins.

Processing the fruit for use in jam can be done in a variety
of ways and largely depends on the texture and consistency you prefer.

Another nice alternative to the tomato strainer that can be used to puree fruit for jam is the Weston® Stainless Steel Food Mill. This, again, is better for smaller quantities. We made a couple of jars of seed-in raspberry jam with the food mill. The coarse milling plate allowed us to give this jam more texture while still producing a puree appropriate for jam making.

Once the fruit is processed, it's added to pectin and boiled before being finished off with sugar. The Weston® Deluxe 5-Piece Canning Kit is a given from here. As everything needs to remain hot and sanitized, the kit keeps your hands safe.

The Weston® Stainless Steel Cone Strainer is shaped perfectly for canning and allows you to sift out any left over skins or seeds for pristine jam. After boiling the mixtures with pectin, we strained them through the strainer into our jars one last time - which also helped to skim the foam from the jam. You can also use the Weston® Stainless Steel Cone Strainer to process your fruit by pushing it through with the wooden pestle.

The jars get sealed in boiling water, and then they're ready to be stored in a dark, cool, dry place for up to a year (if you can wait that long).

Westonians couldn't wait, so we had a Jamboree last week, and we're proud to say that the recipes we're sharing below are DELICIOUS! Get started on savoring summer now...